Chrysanthemum plant named ‘Storm’

ABSTRACT

A distinct cultivar of  Chrysanthemum  plant named ‘Storm’, characterized by its upright plant habit; dark green-colored foliage; freely flowering habit; large decorative spider-type inflorescences that are about 10.7 cm in diameter; attractive white-colored ray florets; response time about 58 days; strong peduncles; and good postproduction longevity with inflorescences and foliage maintaining good substance and color for about two weeks in an interior environment.

Botanical classification/cultivar designation: Chrysanthemum×morifolium cultivar Storm.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plant, botanically known as Chrysanthemum×morifolium and hereinafter referred to by the name ‘Storm’.

The new Chrysanthemum is a product of a planned breeding program conducted by the Inventor in Salinas, Calif. and Alva, Fla. The objective of the breeding program is to create new cut Chrysanthemum cultivars having inflorescences with desirable colors and good inflorescence form and substance.

The new Chrysanthemum originated from a cross-pollination made by the Inventor in October, 1998, in Salinas, Calif., of a proprietary Chrysanthemum×morifolium seedling selection identified as code number R089, not patented, as the female, or seed, parent with a proprietary Chrysanthemum×morifolium seedling selection identified as R210, not patented, as the male, or pollen, parent.

The cultivar Storm was discovered and selected by the Inventor as a flowering plant within the progeny of the stated cross-pollination in a controlled environment in Alva, Fla., in November, 1999. The selection of this plant was based on its desirable inflorescence color and good inflorescence form and substance.

Asexual reproduction of the new Chrysanthemum by terminal cuttings in a controlled environment in Alva, Fla. since February, 2000, has shown that the unique features of this new Chrysanthemum are stable and reproduced true to type in successive generations.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Plants of the cultivar Storm have not been observed under all possible environmental conditions. The phenotype may vary somewhat with variations in environment such as temperature, daylength and light intensity, without, however, any variance in genotype.

The following traits have been repeatedly observed and are determined to be the unique characteristics of ‘Storm’. These characteristics in combination distinguish ‘Storm’ as a new and distinct cultivar:

-   -   1. Upright cut Chrysanthemum that is usually grown as a disbud.     -   2. Dark green-colored foliage.     -   3. Large decorative spider-type inflorescences that are about         10.7 cm in diameter.     -   5. Attractive white-colored ray florets.     -   6. Response time about 58 days.     -   7. Strong peduncles.     -   8. Good postproduction longevity with inflorescences and foliage         maintaining good substance and color for about two weeks in an         interior environment.

Compared to plants of the female parent selection, plants of the new Chrysanthemum are taller, have smaller inflorescences and differ in ray floret coloration as plants of the female parent selection have yellow-colored ray florets.

Compared to plants of the male parent selection, plants of the new Chrysanthemum have smaller inflorescences and fewer disc florets per inflorescence. In addition, ray florets of plants of the new Chrysanthemum do not “pink” under low temperature conditions whereas ray florets of plants of the male parent selection “pink” under low temperature conditions.

Plants of the new Chrysanthemum can also be compared to plants of the Chrysanthemum×morifolium cultivar Super White, not patented. In side-by-side comparisons conducted in Alva, Fla., plants of the new Chrysanthemum differed from plants of the cultivar Super White in the following characteristics:

-   -   1. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum were taller than plants of         the cultivar Super White.     -   2. Plants of the new Chrysanthemum flowered about ten days         earlier than plants of the cultivar Super White.     -   3. Ray florets of plants of the new Chrysanthemum were white in         color and did not “pink” under low temperature conditions         whereas ray florets of plants of the cultivar Super White         “pinked” under low temperature conditions.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE PHOTOGRAPHS

The accompanying colored photographs illustrate the overall appearance of the new Chrysanthemum, showing the colors as true as it is reasonably possible to obtain in colored reproductions of this type. Colors in the photographs may differ slightly from the color values cited in the detailed botanical description which accurately describe the colors of the new Chrysanthemum.

The photograph on the first sheet comprises a side perspective view of a typical flowering stem of ‘Storm’ grown as a disbud.

The photograph on the second sheet comprises a close-up view of a typical flowering stem of ‘Storm’ grown as a disbud.

DETAILED BOTANICAL DESCRIPTION

In the following description, color references are made to The Royal Horticultural Society Colour Chart, 1995 Edition, except where general terms of ordinary dictionary significance are used. The aforementioned photographs and following observations and measurements describe plants grown in Madrid, Cundinamarca, Colombia, South America, under conditions which approximate commercial practice in a single-layer polyethylene-covered greenhouse. Two-week old rooted cuttings were planted on Sep. 1, 2003 and received 18 long day/short nights followed by short day/long nights until flowering. Plants were grown as single-stem disbud cut Chrysanthemums. During the production time, the following environmental conditions were measured: day temperatures, 18 to 24° C.; night temperatures, 4 to 12° C.; and light levels, 3,000 to 5,000 foot-candles. Measurements and numerical values represent averages for six to ten typical flowering stems and were taken about nine to ten weeks after the start of short days.

-   Botanical classification: Chrysanthemum×morifolium cultivar Storm. -   Commercial classification: Decorative spider-type cut Chrysanthemum. -   Parentage:     -   -   Female or seed parent.—Proprietary Chrysanthemum×morifolium             seedling selection identified as code number R089, not             patented.         -   Male or pollen parent.—Proprietary Chrysanthemum×morifolium             seedling selection identified as code number R210, not             patented. -   Propagation:     -   -   Type.—Terminal tip cuttings.         -   Time to rooting.—About 10 to 14 days with soil temperatures             of 18 to 21° C.         -   Root description.—Fine, fibrous; white in color.         -   Rooting habit.—Freely branching. -   Plant description:     -   -   Appearance.—Herbaceous decorative spider-type cut flower             that is typically grown as a disbud.         -   Flowering stem description.—Aspect: Erect. Length: About             99 cm. Stem diameter: About 6 mm. Internode length: About             4.7 cm. Texture: Pubescent; longitudinally ridged. Color:             Close to 146A.         -   Foliage description.—Arrangement: Alternate. Length: About             9.7 cm. Width: About 5.1 cm. Apex: Apiculate. Base:             Attenuate. Margin: Palmately lobed; sinuses divergent.             Texture: Upper and lower surfaces pubescent and leathery;             veins prominent on lower surface. Color: Developing and             fully expanded foliage, upper surface: Darker green than             147A. Developing and fully expanded foliage, lower surface:             Darker green than 147B. Venation, upper surface: Close to             147A. Venation, lower surface: 147B to 146A. Petiole:             Length: About 2.5 cm. Diameter: About 3 mm. Color: Upper             surface: Close to 146B. Lower surface: 147B to 146B. -   Flowering description:     -   -   Appearance.—Decorative spider-type inflorescence form with             quilled-shaped ray florets. Inflorescences borne on             terminals, arising from leaf axils. Disc and ray florets             develop acropetally on a capitulum.         -   Flowering response.—Under natural conditions, plant flower             in the autumn/winter in the Northern Hemisphere. At other             times of the year, inflorescence initiation and development             can be induced under short day/long night conditions (at             least 13.5 hours of darkness). Plants exposed to two weeks             of long day/short night conditions after planting followed             by photoinductive short day/long night conditions flower             about 58 days later when grown as a disbud.         -   Postproduction longevity.—In an interior environment,             inflorescences and foliage will maintain good color and             substance for about two weeks in an interior environment.         -   Quantity of inflorescences.—Grown as a disbud, only one             terminal inflorescence.         -   Inflorescence size.—Diameter: Large, about 10.7 cm. Depth             (height): About 3.75 cm. Diameter of disc: About 2 mm.             Diameter of receptacle: About 1.1 cm.         -   Inflorescence buds.—Shape: Oblate. Height: About 8 mm.             Diameter: About 1 cm. Color: Darker green than 146A.         -   Ray florets.—Shape: Quilled. Surface: Concave. Length: About             5.75 cm. Width: About 4 mm. Corolla tube length: About             5.1 cm. Apex: Emarginate. Base: Fused. Texture: Smooth,             glabrous; satiny; longitudinally ridged. Aspect: Initially             incurved; when mature, mostly perpendicular to peduncle.             Number of ray florets per inflorescence: About 292 arranged             in numerous rows. Color: When opening, upper and lower             surfaces: Close to 150D. Fully opened, upper and lower             surfaces: Close to 155D faintly overlain with 150D. Color             becoming closer to 155D with development.         -   Disc florets.—Shape: Tubular, elongated. Length: About 4 mm.             Width: About 1.25 mm. Number of disc florets per             inflorescence: About five. Color: Immature: Close to 154A.             Mature: Apex: Close to 9A. Mid-section: Close to 150D. Base:             Close to 155D.         -   Phyllaries.—Quantity per inflorescence: About 26. Length:             About 1 cm. Width: About 4 mm. Shape: Deltoid. Apex: Acute.             Base: Truncate. Margin: Entire. Texture, upper surface:             Smooth, waxy. Texture, lower surface: Pubescent. Color,             upper surface: Close to 144A. Color, lower surface: Darker             green than 146A.         -   Reproductive organs.—Androecium: Present on disc florets             only. Anther color: 9A. Amount of pollen: None observed.             Gynoecium: Present on both ray and disc florets.         -   Seed/fruit.—Seed and fruit production has not been observed. -   Disease/pest resistance: Resistance to pathogens and pests common to     Chrysanthemums has not been observed on plants grown under     commercial conditions. -   Temperature tolerance: Plants of the new Chrysanthemum have     demonstrated good tolerance to low temperatures of 4° C. and high     temperatures high temperatures of 35° C. 

1. A new and distinct cultivar of Chrysanthemum plant named ‘Storm’, as illustrated and described. 